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 8 Jul 2006 @ 14:24, by ming. Alternative Money Systems
And it actually worked...! On July 12th, 2005, Kyle MacDonald took a little red paperclip off his desk and announced that he would trade it for something bigger and better, repeatedly, until he had a house. He made this site, blogging about each step of the way. How the paperclip was traded for a pen shaped like a fish, for which he got an artistically crafted door knob, which became a barbecue, an electricity generator, an instant party kit, a snowmobile, a moving truck, which became a recording contract, which then became one year's free rent, which was swapped for an afternoon with Alice Cooper, which became a KISS snowglobe, which became a paid role in a film, which became a two-story house in Kipling Saskatchewan Canada.
I was kind of pretty sure he was going to succeed after seeing the first 3 or 4 steps. Because it is a very unique idea, and he presented it in a charming way, and he got A LOT of publicity, because everybody was linking to it and writing about it.
What surprised me was some of the bizarre choices, which logically speaking should have been down-trades, but which somehow worked anyway. I mean, one year's rent in a nice house for an afternoon with Alice Cooper?!? And then down to a KISS snowglobe. Oh, horror!! Where a couple of steps earlier he had $9000 truck. But it worked. Corbin Bernsen was making a movie, and liked the publicity of offering a paid movie role for the snowglobe, and, yes, maybe he actually does collect snowglobes. And the little town of Kipling thought that was cool too, and they apparently had a house standing around to give away, so there you go. Rather illogical, but it doesn't matter at all.
Certainly demonstrates ... what? That you can achieve anything, if you set your mind to it, and you're doing it in an interesting and original way. That internet publicity has a lot of value, and you can get it for nothing, if your idea is fun and interesting enough.
Lots of news stories and mentions, like here. More >
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7 Jul 2006 @ 21:39, by craiglang. Extraterrestrials
In my last posting, I lamented the lack of evidence for contact. Yet I also indicated that there WAS enough evidence to convince me that there really is a mystery. As I subsequently thought about both the posting, and the comments people had made in reply, I decided that I had simply rediscovered what is known as the Fermi Paradox. This is the conflict between the idea that there are most likely many ET civilizations, and the observation that (from a conservative scientific perspective) there appears to be little evidence of contact with them.
One solution to the Fermi Paradox is called the Deardorff Hypothesis, first described by Dr. James Deardorff in his article, "A Possible Extraterrestrial Strategy for Earth." in the book Alien Update, edited by Timothy Good.
In this model, he proposes that the Visitors are primarilly observers, and interact with us mostly in a covert manner. At this stage of our development, they deem that we are not yet ready for contact.
I have attached a section from "The Cosmic Bridge" that discusses this idea. Feel free to look it over and give me any comments. More >
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7 Jul 2006 @ 17:20, by vaxen. Ideas, Creativity
So much for the 6 days war. Guess no one wants to remember. Ah, remember to forget. That's a good Wernickes command.
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
What manifestation of ''Source (Ha MaQoR)" said that?
I mean the Hebrew word for that manifestation of Source
code is?
[link] can help you if you do not know.
Prize and Booty, Skull and Bones, Common Law, Maritime Law, Sea, Land... Commerce. I love it!
"Left Bank Books"- Seattle - Ever been there? I'm told it still stands. Old part of the New Civilization. Anyhow...
Just thought I'd check in with Unommono, Bat Dra-Kon and a few other Sagely forms that wander about these innocent looking halls looking to rent-snatch a body.
Low Key forever,
Thetans 13
Source of
All. More >
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 7 Jul 2006 @ 12:24, by jazzolog. Ideas, Creativity
Let's have a merry journey, and shout about how light is good and dark is not. What we should do is not FUTURE ourselves so much. We should NOW ourselves more. "NOW thyself" is more important than "KNOW thyself." Reason is what tells us to ignore the present and live in the future. So all we do is make plans. We think that somewhere there are going to be green pastures. It's crazy. Heaven is nothing but a grand, monumental instance of the future. Listen, NOW is good. NOW is wonderful.
---Mel Brooks
The cloud is free only
to go with the wind.
The rain is free
only when falling.
---Wendell Berry
A monk asked Chao-Chou: "What is zazen?"
Choa-Chou replied: "It is non-zazen."
The bewildered monk said: "How can zazen be non-zazen?"
"It's alive!" was Chao-Chou's reply.
---Zen mondo
The author attempts to capture the poet at CAV in Providence, July 1st.
John Tagliabue, the late poet, spoke of The United Nations of Poetry. He created the term sometime in the early 1960s. I don't think he ever wrote a poem about it...or defined exactly what it was. It didn't seem to have an organization or charter or official members. Occasionally, in the early days of its non-existence, he said certain events or readings were sponsored by or part of the activities of The United Nations of Poetry. As the years went by, and there were more poems about "current events" turning up, he mentioned The United Nations of Poetry more and more. Many of us students and friends presumed, I guess, we were members of it...though John never said we were, and I know of nobody who ever asked for a meeting, Maybe I'll learn there were meetings somewhere. There was one on July 1st, however, in Providence, Rhode Island. More >
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6 Jul 2006 @ 22:43, by i2i. Communication
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 5 Jul 2006 @ 16:17, by scotty. Violence, War
I came across a really intersting article yesterday and decided to share it with you all...
Zionism & Judaism...
Comparing Apples To Rocks
By Judy Andreas
[link]
June 10, 2005
As a young person, I was taught that there are three things one must never discuss...... politics, religion and sex. My response was "what else is there to talk about?" I have always found those topics interesting to study, question and discuss.
I call myself a "truth seeker," and my pursuit of truth has led me down some long and winding roads. I was born of Jewish parents, became an atheist in my late teens (it seemed so hip) and ultimately became immersed in psychology. From the readings of Carl Jung, it was a short hop into the realm of metaphysics. My metaphysical pursuits led me to Hinduism where I experienced Shaktipat with a Guru. Next came Buddhism, which, although peace loving, lacked the passion I craved. Eventually, a book about Vedanta introduced me to Jesus Christ.
As a child of Jewish parents, the mention of the name Jesus had been verboten. This was, in part, because my mother had been raised in a neighborhood in which part of the celebration of Easter included throwing stones at my mother and her family and calling them "Christ killers" However, I had not had my mother's experience. The Christ according to Vedanta was a loving being.
I took to the words of Jesus and was baptized in 1991. Christianity was fine until you got past the teachings of Jesus and entered the realm of Paul's "hell fire and brimstone." The "exclusivity" of the religion and the need to chapter and verse people over the head with two by fours, sent me running from the church.
The Wiccan religion was probably my favorite ....... More >
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 4 Jul 2006 @ 22:47, by jstarrs. Ideas, Creativity
Dead... More >
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 4 Jul 2006 @ 13:12, by ming. Personal Development
If you think you have problem, it sometimes helps to imagine something bigger. Like, a much bigger problem. Then your current problems at hand suddenly seem much smaller and easier by comparison. You can't quite get your diet to work? Well, a billion people in the world are starving - that's a bigger problem, and in comparison, it is very insignificant if you weigh 5kg too much. It also works if it is something positive, if you get to think of something so wonderful that, again, your current problems become insignificant. Which shirt should you wear, the white one or the grey one, or should you go shopping for a new shirt? Well, if the doorbell is ringing, and outside you see a news crew, and the smiling host of your local Lottery program - you'll be choosing that shirt in no time at all. No longer any problem.
Most obstacles in life are really quite relative. What you call problems will for somebody else be nothing at all, something to solve in half a second. What you call problems will for somebody else be a great blessing. You don't know what company to choose to replace the window shades on your car? Hey, in the first place, you have a car, and most people in the world are not so lucky.
Likewise, your own obstacles will seem different to you depending on what you compare them with. Like, depending on what objective you're working towards, and how much you believe in it. If suddenly you have something more important to do, you'll handle most things in no time, and you'll take on some challenges you otherwise would never have thought of.
Here's a couple of thought experiments Max and I thought up once, a long time ago. Nothing terribly unique about them, but they illustrate the possibilities well.
Imagine you're going to die tomorrow, or maybe next week. What would you do? Clearly, your priorities would totally change if you knew, for sure, that you were going to die shortly. A lot of petty issues no longer would be an issue. Other things, which you have been ignoring, suddenly become very important. You'd probably want to tell people close to you that you love them, even if you forgot to mention it previously. You'd suddenly feel like calling up people you had some minor conflict with, and settling it. You'll apologize to a few people, for things that you did or didn't do. You'll probably put some of your affairs in order, making sure your family is taken care of, as well as possible, and that they know the password to the checking account, and that kind of thing. And then you'd probably concentrate on having the most quality time you can in your remaining days. Doing the best things you can imagine, with people you care for, and doing it in the most intense and emotionally awake way that you possibly can.
OK, you might react totally differently, and go into a deep depression, and hide in your room, and not mention it to anybody. But that would be missing the great opportunity. The opportunity to bring everything up to date, and to revel in the love and good will and closeness and compassion you kind of wanted all along, but didn't get around to.
Noticing that you very well could do most of that in a week, the question is of course why you don't just do it anyway, every day, even if you don't know you're going to die next week. After all, you might indeed be killed in any instant, by a stray meteor or a falling brick or a heart attack or a drunk driver. You don't really know, and you don't really have any good way of avoiding it. So, why not live in the moment every day, bring out the best qualities of life, and don't leave anything dangling. Say what you feel. If you feel you need to do something, do it now, as you won't necessarily get the chance again.
Such a thought experiment might of course remind you of that. Maybe inspire you to do the things that really are important, rather than messing around with unimportant stuff you don't really enjoy anyway.
Another experiment: imagine you're an inter-galactic agent who's been sent to this planet in order to clean things up. The planet is on a downward course, people are fighting about stupid stuff, destroying their environment rapidly, and following self-serving leaders who don't have more of a clue than they do. Something needs to be done, so the Grand Council in the galactic core have sent YOU. What are you going to do?
Most of us settle down on having a certain standing in life, a certain sphere of influence, a certain range of things we might attempt to do. It is different for each of us, but most of us imagine certain boundaries around our sphere of influence. I might start a business, I might be on the parent's council in my kid's school, I might get a bigger car, I might win the lottery. And I sort of position my problems and obstacles within that sphere. I might have some trouble starting a business, I might argue with the other parents in my kids school, I need to pay my mortgage and my taxes, etc. I adopt these problems as part of my allotted place in life. It goes with the territory.
Some people, who seem no more well-equipped as human beings than me, might choose bigger lots in life. To be a politician, and be elected to office, for example. They're not smarter people, but merely people who assume that they ought to do that. You might assume that your lot in life is to be wealthy and run a big company. It is not that you necessarily have something I don't have, but you define your playing field that way, and you define your obstacles accordingly. The steps for getting a bank to lend you $50,000,000 are not terribly different from the steps of getting them to lend you $50,000. Hiring 1000 people is not inherently different from hiring 1. It is just that one adopts and accepts a different scope and some challenges of a different size.
So, OK, I've been sent here on a mission, and I have, say, 1 year to change the course of the planet. What would I do? Well, I probably wouldn't just aim for getting an apartment in the suburbs and a job as an office clerk, and keeping up with my car payments, and trying to catch the latest shows on TV. Maybe I'd do some of those things as part of my plan, but that wouldn't be my focus at all. I'd have to look at it strategically. What is the power structure on this planet? Who are the most influential players? Where are they? How do I enter their circles? Who would be my allies? How do I acquire large amounts of resources very quickly? What are the most effective means for influencing mass opinion? What's the most effective framing for a movement that will change the planet - a religion, a polical party, a business, a media event, a technology? Once I establish the targets and the means, I have to go about it systematically and quickly. I only have a year, so I need to meet some major milestones every day.
That wouldn't be an easy job, but you get the idea. If that were actually what I was here for, I'd do very different things than I otherwise would. And I'd be quite likely to make some significant progress with it.
You'll notice, of course, that there already are people who work like that. Maybe they don't consider themselves inter-galactic agents, but they somehow have the motivation to claw themselves to the top of the heap, where they'll have the influence they desire. People who think very big and who don't hesitate. People who'll go directly for the most powerful points of leverage, and have no qualms about whether they deserve it or not. And the difference between them and you is not their inherent skills, but mainly the scope of their vision. They believe they ought to do something big, and they don't let themselves be stopped by small obstacles. It doesn't matter if they start with no resources. It is all in the attitude.
So, point being, you are free to frame your life as you want it. You're equally free to choose a big frame as a small frame. The frame is just something you imagine, but it helps greatly if you believe it, and you feel it, and you act as if it is important. More >
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 4 Jul 2006 @ 08:11, by judih. Spirituality
An Interview with Ram Dass, as found on Mavericks of the Mind, and saved to be savoured. It's hitting a spot within me this morning, so perhaps it'll resonate with you.
Here's the link to the entire interview, but my intention is simply to quote a small portion.
Mavericks of the Mind, Ram Dass More >
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 4 Jul 2006 @ 00:05, by i2i. Communication
Non-sequiturs often appear under the form of unintentional (sophomoric), or deliberate (trolling) disconnected comments, or changes in subject.
The comment below was removed either for its lack of clarity as to its purpose (because of style or content) or because of its apparent lack of relevance to the topic at hand from the thread on which it was originally posted by its author.
Not all such comments are sophomoric in nature, nor the result of trolling, so this comment was posted here so as to offer an avenue for those interested in the topic or style (e.g. mediumistic automatism, absurdism, etc.) which might be present in such or such comment independently of the context in which the comment was posted.
The mission of TrollXing is one of understanding. The comment featured on the present post will only remain here with its author's permission and will, of course, be removed upon simple request by its author, if said author signifies in a comment below that he or she wishes the post to be removed. More >
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